Christian Dior Handbags and Purses

Dior made more than a bit of a statement with its Spring 2011 accessories collection, and if you’re itching to get your hands on a piece of the brand’s lighter, younger handbag aesthetic, Bergdorf Goodman would like to let you start that process now.

I can’t remember the last time I was excited for a Dior bag collection, but ladies (and gents), I’m excited about Christian Dior Spring 2011. Perhaps it’s because John Galliano stepped away from the patrician well that he had been mining for the past year or two, or maybe it’s just the residual effect of staring at so many bright colors over the past week, but it seems to me that Dior finally has turned the page on the bland, predictable bags that we’ve seen from the Parisian label in recent seasons.

On the one hand, fur bags are usually atrocious, not to mention dubiously ethical. On the other hand, they’ve certainly given me plenty of fodder for posts and given you guys lots of stuff to talk about (or, more accurately, to talk smack about), so maybe they’re not all bad.

I hate to say it, but John Galliano’s haute couture collections for Christian Dior have been a bit repetitive over the past few seasons. The clothes have always been suitably beautiful and ornate, of course, but I left the last collection unsure if I had seen anything particularly interesting or memorable.

Sometimes in fashion, the phrase “ask and ye shall receive” holds true. I’m pleased to say that appears to be the case with my recent complaint about Dior’s somewhat tedious bag line – a few of the bags from the brand’s recently presented Resort 2011 line caught my attention.

I mean no disrespect, of course – Dior is one of the most storied and important brands in the history of luxury as we know it, and they do a fantastic job with a lot of aspects of their business (I’m a particular fan of their makeup).

When I think of Christian Dior, all I see is Charlize Theron stripping down and all I hear is her voice softly and seductively saying “J’adore Dior”. The brand is known for its long history and timeless aesthetic. And with the re-opening of their store in Shanghai, Dior has decided to create an exclusive and limited edition selection of items.

Really, where would those ideals be more appropriately on display than at the Christian Dior Haute Couture show this week in Paris? John Galliano styled his Cruella-meets-English-nobility show with riding crops and streaks of Bride of Frankenstein grey hair, and although I didn’t adore this collection as much as I did the lingerie-as-outerwear show from six months ago, I couldn’t help but smile.

If you don’t think that John Galliano is a mad genius and we’re just all lucky to be living in the same world with him, then you haven’t been paying attention.

For Spring 2010, his collection for Christian Dior connected beautifully to the retro-and-structured-underthings look that he had showed earlier this year during Haute Couture week, and the 40s film noir looks were exactly what you would expect a dizzy dame to wear when walking into a smoky private eye’s office.

If you are a fan of Dior handbags, we may be continuously letting you down. Personally, I do not think Dior does a horrid job with their handbag line, but I also am not moved often enough about their handbags and purses to write about them.